Final Reflection

Now that I have been home for a couple of days, it’s time to sit down and reflect on the last couple of weeks in Norway.

I didn’t really look into Norway much before the trip; I looked at the Wikipedia page and read a few articles about current issues facing the country.  I only had limited knowledge of the places we planned to see, so I didn’t really know what to expect from them.  The place I was most excited to see was Svalbard.  I know that not many people can say they’ve been there or even that far north.  The landscapes of the future are held in the glacial ice in Svalbard, its almost like we journeyed back in time on the visit there.  The time in Svalbard made me contemplate that term “glacial pace” and realize how slow that really is. 

The measurement most people use to look back into the past is how many generations ago something happened; with glaciers these measurements don’t work the same. The landscapes that we visited throughout the trip took far longer than one human lifetime to create.

I came to Norway with little knowledge of glacial processes, expecting myself to struggle learning all the terms on the checklist we received on the first day and I left knowing all of them without flashcards or any other form of studying.  I am amazed at the power of learning from hands-on activities. 

I came to Norway expecting to look at Norwegian perception of climate change compared to our own perceptions and ended up looking at Norwegian aquaculture. “Norwegian aquaculture operates in the natural environment that we all share, and that imposes obligations on everyone involved. For this reason, sustainability within aquaculture is more than just a catchword; it is a basic prerequisite for the very existence and profitability of the business.”  I found Norway interesting because of the views of private land in the country; there is none.  Anyone can go anywhere as long as he or she doesn’t harm, disturb, litter, nor damage wildlife or crops of the land.  The concept of freedom to roam is interesting to me because in the United States the idea doesn’t exist.  I think this freedom shows respect for the environment because of the trust that people will not harm the land.  The United States couldn’t implement the same law because people wouldn’t respect the land.  I was surprised at how much of Norwegian law was based on trust.  Many of the parks charged a fee without anyone there to collect it; many honor system rules apply in Norway.

The place I enjoyed the most was Vang.  I liked everywhere we went, but Vang was my favorite.  The hikes around there were amazing and I think it is the place I learned the most from.  I did a lot of research into my newly created project and I really became interested and invested in it.

I remember a quote that perfectly describes this trip for me;  “the best journeys answer questions that in the beginning you didn’t even think to ask.”  I think Norway taught me a lot about things I wasn’t expecting to learn.

Jake's final thoughts

Our course in Norway was an amazing look at a country shaped as much by ice and physical processes as people and the cultures they left behind. Quite unlike anything I had ever done before, this class forced me to experience a country from a geographer's perspective rather than just a traveler's. It is one thing to learn about frost heaving in a classroom and another thing entirely to see it firsthand as we are walking next to a glacier.

My favorite aspect was most definitely our visit to Svalbard (like everyone else, it seems). Traveling above the Arctic Circle - where the sun never sets and the time on the clock doesn't carry as much meaning - was an unbelievable opportunity. Just thinking about how far I was from the North Pole makes me shake my head in amazement. The geology of Svalbard was strange and alien-like yet provided a perfect example of almost all the features we had discussed.

Not only was the geology of Norway unique, but the long history of Norse and Christian traditions in the country made the cultural aspects of the course great. Holding a working, 1,000 year old church lock definitely gives one a sense of just how long people have been settled in the country. The mixing of natural processes and human impacts gives the country amazing diversity and beauty.

Hopefully one day, I will be able to return Norway and see how the landscapes have changed in the time that's passed. This was certainly an amazing opportunity and one I will not soon forget.

Jake